NEW YORK (January 8, 2018) – The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced that Raymond L. Kotcher, Fellow PRSA, and Felicia Walker Blow, APR, have been selected to serve as Senior Counsel to the 2018 PRSA National Board of Directors. Kotcher is Professor of the Practice, Boston University College of Communication, and Non-Executive Chairman of Ketchum. Walker Blow is Associate Vice President of Development & Campaign Director, Hampton University.

“I’m grateful to have Ray and Felicia serve in an ex-officio capacity on our board this year,” said 2018 National Chair Anthony D’Angelo, APR, Fellow PRSA. “Ray’s role will be to advise and support the Society’s strategic planning efforts, and Felicia’s will be to serve as counsel and liaison to our national Membership Committee, focusing on member retention and chapter support. PRSA is fortunate to have professionals of their caliber willing to make this substantial volunteer commitment.”

Kotcher spent more than 30 years at Ketchum – including 15 years as CEO and then chairman. While he was CEO, the firm tripled in size and was twice named PR Week’s Agency of the Year. Today, Kotcher is Non-Executive Chairman of the agency and Professor of the Practice of Public Relations at Boston University’s (BU) College of Communication. He believes in service to the industry and its practitioners – particularly those newly embarking on a PR career – and has led or been a trustee of most every professional organization. For example, he is a trustee of the PRSA Foundation and is passionate about its mission to attract and retain underrepresented minorities to careers in PR. Kotcher also served two terms as Chair of the Council of Public Relations Firms where he worked to promote the highest standards of ethical practice. To ensure those standards, Kotcher asked every member to sign the Council’s Statement of Principles, which all did — an industry first. From 1999 to 2007 Kotcher served as a trustee of the Institute for Public Relations (IPR). He is actively engaged in the Arthur W. Page Society and has served on Page’s executive committee, as a trustee, and as chair of the membership committee.

Kotcher is a recipient of the PRSA’s Gold Anvil and IPR’s Hamilton Medal. In 2016, he was inducted into the Page Society Hall of Fame. Kotcher also is a member of the PRSA’s College of Fellows and is distinguished alum of BU and COM.

Blow, an award-winning leader with a 28-year career spanning work in Manufacturing, Waste Management and Environmental Services, Telecommunications and Higher Education, has served as architect for several different organizational activities, helping to expand and enhance the public relations profession. A graduate of Hampton University, she has an MBA from Strayer University, and is pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Administration at Old Dominion University.

While at Cox Communications, she initiated the Cox Charities Virginia program, which in its first year generated proceeds to fund numerous nonprofits in Virginia. At the Solid Waste Association of North America, she helped create the Communications, Education and Marketing division, and served as its first international division chair.

Through her work with PRSA, as Chair of the Universal Accreditation Board, Blow initiated the creation of the APR + M credential, an important tool in the retention and ongoing professional development of military public relations professionals. Her honors include a PRSA Certificate for Meritorious Service (2006-2010), and the Association of National Communicators National Beacon Award (2010). Blow, in 2000, also was the first African-American female president of the Hampton Roads Virginia PRSA Chapter.

About the Public Relations Society of America

PRSA is the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community. The organization’s mission is to make communications professionals smarter, better prepared and more connected through all stages of their career. PRSA achieves this by offering its members thought leadership, innovative lifelong learning opportunities to help them develop new skills, enhance their credibility and connect with a strong network of professionals. The organization sets the standards of professional excellence and ethical conduct for the public relations industry. PRSA collectively represents more than 30,000 members consisting of communications professionals spanning every industry sector nationwide and college and university students who encompass the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Learn more about PRSA at https://www.prsa.org .